The UK government pledges a law to change parts of the Brexit deal agreed with the EU on Northern Ireland
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says the bill will ease trade and insists it will not break international law
But the government is facing criticism, with many MPs questioning the legality of the plan
In Brussels, EU negotiators say they have significant concerns and warn they could retaliate
But Boris Johnson defends his government, saying: "We don't want to nix it, we want to fix it"
Special trade arrangements - known as the Northern Ireland Protocol - were needed after the UK left the EU
But they have resulted in delays and price rises as goods arriving in Northern Ireland require paperwork
Political institutions in Northern Ireland are at a standstill because of the issue but the majority of elected NI assembly members accept the protocol
Truss continues that the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is under strain.
She says the Northern Ireland executive has not been functioning because the protocol does not have support from a part of the community.
She adds that the protocol has led to some business stopping trading altogether.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss begins her statement by saying the government's first priority is to uphold the Good Friday Agreement.
She says this includes a power sharing government at Stormont, parity of esteem between all communities and co-operation on the island of Ireland.
She says progress in Northern Ireland rests on this agreement.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is now on her feet and delivering her statement to MPs.
We'll bring you the latest updates here as soon as we can.
A quick reminder of how the Northern Ireland Protocol – which the UK government says must change - came about:
Image source, Getty ImagesThe European Commission says it wants Britain to "engage" with its proposals on trade with Northern Ireland, rather than acting on its own to suspend the post-Brexit agreement.
Spokesman Daniel Ferrie told a press briefing in Brussels: "I think our message is loud and clear: engaging with us on the basis of the proposals we put forward last October, engaging with us on those flexibilities, is a much better course than engaging unilaterally."
Last week, European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic suggested he would be willing to look at changing EU legislation if "Britain was constructive about implementation of the protocol".
Asked to expand on this, Ferrie said the commission had made it clear its proposals were "not a 'take it or leave it' type package".
He added: "The vice-president said himself in his statement on Thursday that we made clear there is still potential to be explored in our proposals."
Image source, Henry Nicholls/ReutersA lot of serious faces round the table this morning as ministers met to discuss the government's next move on post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Shortly, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will make a statement to Parliament, and set out what they came up with.
Rishi Sunak has the floor at present - Truss is expected as soon as he's finished taking Treasury questions.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Republic of Ireland's minister for foreign affairs has warned the UK against "breaking international law" by going against the Brexit agreement.
Writing on Twitter, Simon Coveney said he spoke to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss last night and will meet her in Italy later this week.
He said: "I made clear that breaking international law is not the answer to solving protocol issues. The EU/UK negotiating teams haven’t met since Feb. Time to get back to the table."
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement (the UK's deal with the EU), which is now international law.
The majority of politicians elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly want the protocol to remain but unionist parties want it to be removed or radically reformed.
That means there is a stark difference of opinion between the two largest parties.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - which supports Northern Ireland being part of the UK - is refusing to enter the power-sharing government in protest.
Sinn Féin - now the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly - accepts the protocol but the party’s president, Mary Lou McDonald, has accused Boris Johnson of unacceptable and obstructionist tactics in relation to it.
"The British government is in a game of brinkmanship with the European institutions, indulging a section of political unionism which believes it can frustrate and hold society to ransom," she said on Monday.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis was on the airwaves this morning, trying to assure people that the protocol was not intended to interfere with, or upset people's lives.
But, he said, "it certainly is doing that... east-west trade is damaged at the moment".
He said the government is trying to negotiate "flexibilities" to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Businesses not supplying Northern Ireland from Great Britain now numbered 200, he said.
The government wants to achieve a situation, he said, whereby goods which will not leave Northern Ireland from Great Britain do not need to go through checks for going to the rest of the EU.
Sometimes visualising the issue can be the simplest way to grasp what's going on - here's our best effort.
But if you still want to read about it in detail - here's our simple guide.
Image source, Getty ImagesEarlier this morning we heard from one business that has been affected by the current trading arrangements - Marks & Spencer.
It's chairman, Archie Norman, says it takes eight hours to prepare the required documents for transporting products to the Republic of Ireland (into the EU).
If the EU introduces comparable rules for Northern Ireland, Norman says it would be impossible for smaller businesses to afford export costs.
He says: "At the moment, wagons arriving in the Republic of Ireland have to carry 700 pages of documentation....some of the descriptors, particularly of animal product, have to be written in Latin and in a certain typeface."
Even sandwich ingredients are subject to checks, he says: "Every piece of butter in a sandwich has to have an EU vet certificate, so it's highly bureaucratic and pretty pointless".
M&S has stopped shipping goods to France due to customs rules, he says, and is finding it tough to make its business work in the Republic of Ireland.
Just a quick update on timings - we're now expecting Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to speak in the Commons at 12.35 BST.
From experience, we can tell you this may slip a bit - but we'll tell you what she says as soon as we hear it.
Nick Beake
BBC News, Brussels
Image source, Getty ImagesUK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and European Commission chief Brexit negotiator Maroš Šefčovič met in London in February.
War in Ukraine, millions of refugees forced into EU countries and soaring energy prices are three big reasons why the European Union doesn’t want talk of a trade war with the UK.
The EU rejects British claims it’s applying the protocol too rigidly and dismisses suggestions it’s not taking seriously enough its role in helping to maintain peace in Northern Ireland.
The European Commission chief Brexit negotiator Maroš Šefčovič has said he won’t deal with threats or blackmail and is imploring the UK to persevere with joint discussions over border checks and reducing customs paperwork.
Ireland – the EU country most impacted by the latest post-Brexit crisis – says British proposals to unliterally rip up mutual agreements and break international law are not the solution.
If, as expected, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss only signals the intention to bring forward legislation to override parts of the Brexit deal and there’s no actual text to see, the EU may feel it’s already made its point and decline to respond with instant counterthreats.
Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesForeign Secretary Liz Truss may go less far today than some people have expected and than some briefings to newspapers over the last few days have hinted.
I think what she’s going to do is restate the government’s existing position - which is that they want to get changes made to the protocol through negotiations with the EU.
That process is going to continue, but Truss is likely to give us more clarity about what the prime minister calls his "insurance policy'" - the idea of the UK proposing domestic laws which could allow it to abandon parts of the Northern Ireland protocol at some point in the future.
Image source, Getty ImagesAll goods arriving in Northern Ireland's ports from the rest of the UK have to go through checks
The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit deal. It means freight can pass freely between Northern Ireland (in the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (in the European Union).
In practical terms:
In political terms:
Nobody wants checks at the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland because of Northern Ireland's troubled political history.
But Northern Ireland's unionist politicians (who support Northern Ireland being part of the UK) say it means Northern Ireland is treated differently from England, Scotland and Wales.
That's the simple take - if you have more questions you can read more here.
This is what we’re expecting:
Good morning, and thank you for joining us.
Today the UK government is expected to lay out proposed plans to adapt parts of the Brexit deal in Northern Ireland to simplify trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
After the UK voted for Brexit, special trade arrangements were made for Northern Ireland, as it is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with the EU.
These arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, mean goods can pass freely between Northern Ireland (in the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (in the European Union).
This means lorries don't have to stop and prove their goods follow EU rules when they cross the border. Instead, checks are done when goods arrive in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
Now the UK government has hinted it wants to change these rules. But the EU - which wants to ensure all goods coming into its member countries follow its rules - says renegotiating the text of the protocol is out of the question.